The Island Family Big Change Revealed

In a couple of past posts, I alluded to the fact that the Island Family was facing a big change. So, here it is, the big reveal:

I stood one morning early last month, with my feet in the ocean, my pant legs already heavy with the weight of salt water. Unlike most mornings, I hoped no one would stop to chat, and that I wouldn’t see anyone I knew. Because in that moment, by my own choosing no less, I had been reduced to a girl with tears pouring in torrents down her face. I shook with the force of them.

I was sobbing.

It was my last morning to wake up in my own bed, in my own home, on the island I had fallen in love with and chosen to love. It was my last morning to call all of this home.

It was no small thing.

Where we have lived, I will forever be convinced, is one of the best places on earth to live. It is a great place to grow up, to raise a family, to grow old. And we love it dearly.

But sometimes, when you have small people in your care, you have to make decisions that will affect their future. They’re not easy decisions to make, as many of you know. And while our island has been a wonderful place for our family, with great neighbors, schools, churches, beaches, opportunities, you name it, we had to make a determination based on what we believe is best for our particular small people’s individual needs. In our case, the best choice for them was extremely difficult to discern.

But, after months (and really years) of wrestling with this, we have opted to move.

And as wonderful as it was to open up a map of the world and choose this tiny little place to live, it makes it that much more painful, this decision to leave.

But don’t cry for me, Argentina, for two reasons.

For one thing, I will never forget, for one fraction of one second, how fortunate I am to have lived here, even if this moment right now meant giving it up and walking away to a life filled with drudgery, lived out in a dirt pit, with large greenish-colored bugs and an even larger unidentifiable stench, all located in a land with no chocolate. I am a woman blessed. My life has been filled with an entirely undeserved grace.

But (and this is the second reason) the place I’m moving to has its own merits.

One of its merits is the fact that it’s also in Carolina.

Another merit is the fact that it’s also an island.

I know. I’m completely obnoxious. Really, someone should do something about this.

At any rate, this new island will be different. Despite the similarities I’m sure off-islanders see between the Carolina islands, each island has its own flavor. Plus, we’ll be negotiating new schools, new neighborhoods, new everything really, all without any sort of network of friends and family to assist.

In all likelihood, the new island will have wonders all its own. And, while I can’t see the ocean from my new house, I can walk to it. Plus, it definitely feels islandish there, with its plethora of palm trees and sandy beaches, and that fresh Carolina ocean air.

And, I have a view.

Of the marsh.

Ever sat by a Carolina marsh?

Ever imagined what utter peace would feel like? Try it for a moment. Pretend the screaming kid or spouse next to you belongs to someone else, close your eyes, and just imagine it.

Yeah, it’s kinda like that.

So, here’s the deal. We’re moving this week. I’ll let you know when we get there.

Drama is guaranteed to abound.

We’re moving into a house whose last inhabitants were tenants, and let’s just say they weren’t exactly tidy. And they definitely had pets. I so love cleaning up after other people’s large, hairy, non-housebroken pets. It’s this fun hobby I have.

The small people will be starting new schools soon, so I’m sure there will be educational drama out the wazoo.

Oh, and we have people staying in our old house temporarily (pray, for the sake of world peace, that they are not sneaking in any pets), so we’ll be returning to it at certain points, maybe on some weekends and holidays, and dealing with the long-term plans for that house.

Did I mention, having been recently struck stupid, we’ve decided to do the move ourselves?

I’d count it an honor if you’d stick around to witness the fallout fun family adventures.

14 Comment

Congrats on the move! I know these are bittersweet days so I’m cheering you on from down here. ~waving palm frond pom-poms for you~ We live 2 blocks from our Georgia marshes and love the serenity and peace unique to marsh life. (I’m really glad you’re not leaving the coastal region. I was worried you were moving back to the land of snow and ice. Eek.)

Ha! I love that image of palm frond poms-poms! I may have to get myself some of those. Thanks! Yes, it is very bittersweet, but we’re really very thankful, and so excited that we will still be living on a Carolina island. In fact, I may throw some questions your way about gardening soon, since my yard is not entirely sand anymore!

Wow…. “bittersweet” is the word, indeed. I clicked over here in the midst of writing my own post, and the subject is ~ would you believe? ~ the pain of transitions. I’ll miss the life I’ve been living vicariously through you, but I look forward to new photos, and a new vicarious adventure! 🙂
I’ll be praying for you and your family.

Best of luck with your move. Moving with three little ones is not an envious task. (I know–I’ve done it!) I wish you strength, fortitude, and as much chocolate as necessary to sweeten the ensuing drama. I can’t wait to hear the tales!

Thanks! In terms of the chocolate, it’s not much to brag about, but LCB stocked me with dark chocolate M&Ms before we left. Predictably, however, the small people consumed and spilled the bulk of them long before we hit the Mason-Dixon line and before I even touched them. Oh, well, you too know the joys of motherhood!

It’s turning out to be more “misguided” than “brave” really. But thanks. Actually, what I should have done was hire someone to do all the cleaning before I got here. My theory was I’d end up redoing it myself anyway since I have to know things don’t just look clean but are actually sanitary, so why bother, but in truth, there’s so much pet hair here that layers of cleaning are needed anyway. Yuck. Oh, well. Live and learn, I guess.

Oh my!!! I got behind in reading your posts…been nuts here STILL trying to get settled in our new house (which isn’t so new anymore! ;))
I can’t believe I just got the news! Now i’ll catch up on the rest of your move stories. I DO hope you are completely happy and all goes well at the new place. I’m sure there has been much thought put into this, and you will do fabulous!
Aloha, my island friend! 😉

Thanks for the vote of confidence and good wishes! I’m not sure if I want to know how many boxes you have left at this point, because it’d be like foreshadowing what a month or two from now will be like for us, and I can barely manage to think an hour or two ahead, let alone a month or two. I do hope you are starting to feel at home now, and that your life is starting to settle down a bit from earlier this summer (I have catching up to do on many fronts myself right now, so I’ll be checking in soon).

Post navigation

ABOUT ME

Hey! I’m Christine. Well over a decade ago, my family traded in our lives in Chicago for life on a small island in the Carolinas, and thus began our journey. When I’m not writing, I listen to my loquacious husband talk and I experiment with both helicopter and free-range parenting my three children. (It’s exactly what it sounds like.) I write about all things coastal, but also about subjects like parenting, education, and worldview. Welcome to An Island Mom! I’m thrilled that you are here!